Cinema Where the Wild Things are

Spike Jonze chose Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to build the giant full-body suits, which evoke a fantastical aesthetic. Much like Sendak’s illustrations, they look very soft and fuzzy, inviting a hug; their faces can display a variety of anthropomorphic emotions beyond their animalistic nature, generally appearing affectionate and docile, yet their terrible claws and jagged teeth constantly remind us of the danger these enormous beasts pose.

A film of unconventional beauty, in which much of the action wavers between fun and danger, joy and sadness, in a sensitive exploration of the emotional ups and downs that are part of growing up. Jonze approaches these themes with the same thoughtfulness found in his films for adults. The work features a screenplay by Dave Eggers, with Maurice Sendak himself serving as a producer alongside Tom Hanks. Also noteworthy is the excellent soundtrack by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Another curiosity is the use of the Arcade Fire song "Wake Up" in the film's first official trailer. A version was created specifically for the trailer, and Jonze revealed that he used the album Funeral as inspiration while writing the script.

^{"If anything, Where the Wild Things Are certainly isn’t a conventional children’s film. It’s hard to think of many films quite like it - if any at all. Perhaps its closest cousins hail from Japan, those beautiful films that Studio Ghibli consistently produces. In particular, Hayao Miyazaki’s fantasy creations, such as Oscar-winning masterpiece Spirited Away, and the emotional journey My Neighbour Totoro. American films aren’t usually as abstracted and ambiguous in their depiction of ideas as Where the Wild Things Are or Spirited Away, films that take their protagonists and viewers to fantastical realms of endless possibility, operating on a logic not based on rationality, but emotionality." - Max Fedyk}

^{"Take this as my desperate plea for Spike Jonze to make another movie (...). Few filmmakers can articulate the strange feelings that reside in us all like he does. With Where The Wild Things Are, he takes kids seriously and addresses their fears with complete sincerity. That’s something to be celebrated." - Iana Murray, GQ}

^{"The Wild Things are a combination of puppetry and CGI effects, and it makes them all the more real as a result. The visual effects are used to give them facial expressions which vividly captures their happiness and sadness. As a result, it never ever felt like I was just watching a whole bunch of special effects. It really felt like I was watching creatures I could actually interact with (...).}

^{For me, this film was something of a godsend when I first watched it. We see kids treated like real kids, and there is a wealth of genuine imagination and emotions throughout (...). Too many movies then and now are dumbed down for audiences, and they often don’t treat children like the intelligent creatures they can be,}

^{Indeed, no one could have brought this classic book to the silver screen the way Jonze did. And after all these years, it is definitely worth another look."}

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BIO

Spike Jonze is the versatile director behind the acclaimed films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Her. His films are characterized by existential reflections and discussions about the contemporary world and its conflicts, extending into the future. An actor, director, and producer, he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Being John Malkovich, and would eventually receive the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Her. Creative director of Vice, Spike Jonze began his career as a photographer in the late 1980s for the extreme sports magazine Freestylin', which eventually led him to produce and direct award-winning short films and music videos. His portfolio includes names such as Sonic Youth, Daft Punk, Björk, the Beastie Boys, and Arcade Fire.